Brahmaputra erosion wipes out schools and homes in Darrang villages

Erosion by the Brahmaputra has swallowed large parts of several villages in Darrang district's Mangaldai and Sipajhar revenue circles over the past few weeks, taking schools, a health sub-centre and homes with it, The Assam Tribune reported on Sunday.

The worst affected are Aporia, Borala Khaity and Bhokelikanda villages under Rangamati Mouza in Mangaldai circle.

Villages lost to the river

Residents say nearly all of Aporia has gone into the river, along with Aporia LP School, No. 1 and No. 2 Paschim Aporia LP Schools and the Aporia Health Sub-Centre. Dozens of families have left in search of safer land.

In Borala Khaity, locals say No. 3 Borala Khaity has disappeared and half of No. 2 Borala Khaity has been eaten away. The Borala Khaity Jana Kalyan High School, which once served as a polling centre, is gone.

Gram Pradhan Babul Deka said the threat to No. 1 Borala Khaity had grown over the past six months, with the Chaulkhowa Rawmari Anchalik High School, a newly built health sub-centre and several temples now close to collapse. He said Water Resources Department staff had visited and taken photographs, but no work had started, and warned that about 100 indigenous farming families could lose their homes soon.

What officials say

Mangaldai Circle Officer Tanmoy Bora estimated that about 300 people from nearly 60 families, and around 200 bighas of land, had been affected in that area alone. He said land in the char areas was hard to demarcate because of its shifting, alluvial nature.

Jiten Das, Executive Engineer of the Mangaldai Water Resources Division, said the department planned temporary protection using porcupines and other flood-fighting materials within a week, but was waiting for the government to supply them, as such material is usually issued only during the flood season.

Erosion has also intensified in Dholpur and other riverside villages in Sipajhar circle.

A recurring loss

Erosion is one of Assam's most persistent disasters. The Brahmaputra and its tributaries have eaten away vast areas of land since the 1950s, and erosion often continues after floodwaters recede as the river's banks collapse. Displaced families in char and riverside areas frequently lose not just homes but their farmland and land records.